Paradox 25!

Celebrating 25 Years of Paradox Comics-N-Cards!

By Richard Early / Owner

On June 14, 1993, I unlocked the front door to Paradox for the first time. We had a little 10×11 space in the basement of the Gardner building. No direct access, no advertising on the building, but it was only $100 a month. I had a business partner, $13, and a comic collection that had grown since I was a little kid. I had no idea what I was in for and didn’t give a thought to whether I would be there 25 years later. But here we all are and it’s 2018: a quarter century since that first day, so let’s have a big damn party to celebrate.

Before we get to the party details, and this one is gonna last for 5 days and cover everything pretty much ever, I want to say thank you and tell you why this happened. To everyone who ever walked in this door, from customers to staff to vendors to organizers and judges and charities and advertisers, from first time friends to 25 year subscribers, from the shyest kid to the loudest grown up, I am here to tell you that this happened because of you and to thank you truly from the bottom of my heart. You all shared two and a half decades of pop culture with me, with my family, with us. Or maybe I should say we shared it with you. When I was starting out, it was my love of comics that drove me, so my first friends were fellow comic lovers. But over the years, Paradox and I got involved in so much more stuff. Do you remember when we sold used / collectible Star Wars action figures? And now we are as much or more a game store than a comic store. We listened to you. You showed us the way. You told us what you wanted. We adapted and adapted and adapted and along the way we met thousands of amazing and wonderful people.

That’s the reason Paradox lasted for 25 years. We never wanted to be your retail store, we wanted to be part of your community. You came to the events. In the early days of Magic, you filled the seats. You came to comic auctions and sales and gimmicks. You come to our board game nights, our trivia events, and now our charity drives. This happened because of the incredible people you are.

So about that celebration….

One of the great things about Paradox is that it’s open to every hobby and every interest. You might come here for comics or board games or trade paperbacks or role playing. That means there’s only one way to commemorate all this time together and that’s by featuring every single darn thing we can cram into 5 days. Please read on, friends: there’s a lot of information to digest. There’s tournaments and sales and giveaways and preregistration and picture taking. You’ll find what you want in this blow out. We’ve created a web page for each day, each celebration. We’d love if you read them all but make sure and find the things that apply to you and click the links below for full details. This may just be the most ambitious week in Paradox history but as always it’s all about you.

One last thing before you go on to check out all the incredible parties we’re holding! This all starts on Wednesday October 3 but it all builds up to Sunday the 7. That’s the real party. It’s what we call the “Paradox Family Reunion” and you’ve never seen anything like it.

Every customer we’ve had, every friend we’ve ever made, all our staff, and all our families are invited to one big celebration. No matter your hobby, you are part of the Paradox family. I don’t want to leave anyone out so I’ll include vendors, sales people, charity partners, relatives, and generally anyone who ever found their place here.

At 2PM, it’s the moment 25 years in the making. We’re going to gather everyone together for a picture in front of the shop. Whether we have 20 or 200 people, we’re going to commemorate everything with this one moment. We’ll turn that picture into a print and we’ll sell it with proceeds going to charity. Be a part of history. Take part in something that will be remembered forever and will always remind you you are a part of the Paradox family.

Food Drive

Paradox is here to make a difference. Time and again, we’ve called on you to do that with us. Today is no different. Today we have partnered with a local food bank and as you come to remember this family, we ask you to bring something for the drive.

Family Gaming

Our tables are free all day for gamers of all ages and we encourage you to bring the whole family. We’re working on some special achievements for kids and hope the grown ups help make this a great day. Basically, this is like the open gaming for Tabletop Night and it’s yours for the taking. We’ll have coloring and some of our own games set up but mostly we hope our families join us with their games and plan to make new friends.

Thanks for everything. From day one to now, from the bottom of my heart, I am blessed by your friendships and patronage and humbled by this community. I’ve been able to watch you all grow up and become incredible people. Leaders, business owners, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and a thousand other wonderful things. Paradox has endured through all your trials and tribulations and I’ve done my best to keep the light on so you always know where your home away from home is.